Dropbox tips and tricks

I store all of my files in Dropbox, it is really easy to use, loads of other people use it and I love that I can easily share files and documents with the rest of my team. So, today I thought I’d share my Dropbox tips and tricks for you. Here are 10 tips for those of you that use Dropbox to store your stuff!

Sendtodropbox.com

If you don’t for whatever reason have access to your drop box folders you can use an app called sendtodropbox.com which creates a unique email address you can use to send documents to your Dropbox folders. It’s free and secure. All you have to do is attach your document to an email, send the email to your unique email address and voila! The document appears in your Dropbox folder. This is a great option if your organisation doesn’t let you install Dropbox onto your computer.

Receive files directly into your Dropbox

If you need someone to send you a large file or if you just want to have all of your files in Dropbox without having to move them there yourself, you can request that someone sends you a document straight to your Dropbox (and they don’t have to be a Dropbox user.) The file request feature lets you do this really easily. Log into Dropbox, click file request, complete the details and you will then get an URL link you can send on to receive the file directly into Dropbox.

Preview files

If you have received a file from someone but you cannot open it on your computer, you can upload it to Dropbox and preview the content. This is great if you have been sent say a Mac document on a PC or visa versa. If you do use a Mac you can also edit MS Office documents in Dropbox using Microsoft Office Online which is a free version of Office working on your browser.

View documents offline

If you have a few documents you need access to offline you can easily do this using the Dropbox app on your phone or tablet. Find the document, tap the icon on the right and then switch on the ‘available offline’ button so that you can view the documents without internet access.

Download screenshots directly into Dropbox

If you take a lot of screenshots Dropbox has a nifty setting that lets you save all of the screenshots in one place. Open Dropbox, click the ‘gear’ icon, select your preferences and then imports. At the bottom you should see a tick box that says ‘share screenshots using Dropbox’. You can share all of your screenshots from this folder too.

Review old versions of documents

If you automatically save all of your documents onto Dropbox you will find a really detailed list of your past versions. If you made a mistake and saved the document you can go back and open the correct version and start again. I find this much easier to work with than the MS Office autosave feature.

Easydrop extension

This is a Chrome Extension that allows you to save documents straight from the internet into your Dropbox. Great if you download a lot of PDFs or photos onto your computer hard drive.

Back up your photos on your phone

If you use the Dropbox App on your phone you can automatically store your photos on Dropbox by selecting your settings and activating the camera uploads.

Dropbox Team

There is of course Dropbox for business which starts from $15 per month. However, you can also create a team on Dropbox. This feature gives you a folder that you can share access to, upload and collaborate on documents with other members of staff (or friends and family).